Loss
by Kyas Nonsense
Summary: There are few things in life that Quicksilver can enjoy. And soon, those things are taken away from her. Short fic. OC centered. Set before Earth.


Standing on the tips of her pedes, Quicksilver tried to see over the edge of the console where Soundbyte was working. The holo screens displayed around the green and silver femme showed conversations and information received over the course of the last twenty cycles. The communications officer was sifting through all the information, seeking out certain terms and symbols.

"Silver, hand me that, please," Soundbyte indicated a small chip that sat near Quicksilver's left servo. Reaching out, she picked it up gingerly before transferring it to her right servo and giving it to the femme.

"Did you find something?" Quicksilver asked as her optics lit up and she refocused on the screens. No matter how hard she looked, she could never figure out what had caught the femme's attention.

"Yes," Soundbyte said in her deep voice.

"What?" Quicksilver asked impatiently, looking up at the lavender optics that were watching her above the slightly smiling lip plates.

"Patience, little one; look closer and tell me what you see," Soundbyte said gently, still watching her. Looking away from Soundbyte with a disbelieving look, Quicksilver turned back to the screens and searched them for anything that seemed out of place or somehow off.

"I don't see anything," Quicksilver huffed, sitting back on her knees and crossing her arms over her chest plating.

"Look even closer," Soundbyte suggested, suddenly lifting Quicksilver from her stool, causing her to yelp in surprise, and setting her on the console so that she was closer to the screens.

Now that she was closer to the screens, Quicksilver leaned forward and set her servos on the smooth surface beneath her. Narrowing her optics, she searched for anything that fit with the descriptions of importance or curious information that Soundbyte had taught her. Suddenly her optics fell on three symbols that did not go together in normal conversation.

"There," Quicksilver said, jabbing a finger at the screen and offending Cybertronian script.

"Good job, now, can you tell me _why_ they are so important?" Soundbyte continued as she saved the information to the chip.

"…Normally they're not used together in a sentence," Quicksilver said softly, looking back at Soundbyte to see if she was on the right track.

"Yes, but there's more," Soundbyte said, smiling, "Can you tell me what else these symbols can mean?"

Sitting back so that her back was straight, Quicksilver set her finger beneath her lip plates and stared at the symbols. Around them, the crew was moving back and forth, performing their duties as directed by the captain. Quicksilver barely noticed them and they barely noticed her. She'd been created aboard the ship and had been welcomed by the crew with open arms. All of them treated her well, even going so far as to spoil her from time to time with attention. But there were none aboard that she liked more than Soundbyte. The communications officer had taken her under her wing the moment Quicksilver had shown an interest in what she did aboard the ship.

"Autobots use them together to send messages," Quicksilver said suddenly as the information clicked, "And the meaning changes, depending on how they are written together."

"Correct," Soundbyte praised with a broad grin, "And, what do they mean, as they are written now?"

"Umm," Quicksilver searched her processor as she stared at the three symbols, "A meeting between three high-ranking Autobots?"

"Not quite," Soundbyte said, pushing her a little more, "Think about it carefully, Silver."

"…A secure meeting," Quicksilver said uncertainly, looking at Soundbyte for confirmation.

"Yes, and…," Soundbyte pried, waving a servo to get Quicksilver to continue.

"…It's between an intel bot and," Quicksilver continued, biting her lower lip plate as she thought, "a… security bot?"

"Very good," Soundbyte said, clasping a servo around about Quicksilver's left shoulder and squeezing her against her side.

Giggling, Quicksilver looked up at Soundbyte and grinned broadly, "I got it right?"

"Yes, you did. You've been studying, haven't you!" Soundbyte said. The pride in her voice made Quicksilver's spark soar with happiness.

"Uh huh, everything you gave me," Quicksilver answered.

"I can tell," Soundbyte smiled, looking up as the captain approached.

His expression as he looked down at Quicksilver caused the smile to fall from her faceplate and she made her way off of the console. With Soundbyte's assistance, she was able to get to the decking before he reached them. Quicksilver stood closer to Soundbyte, her helm only reaching the femme's kneeplating.

"Roundhouse, is something wrong?" Soundbyte became serious instantly and stood at attention. Looking between the two of them, Quicksilver felt fear run through her processor. The only time Roundhouse looked like that, something big was happening.

"We have a problem," Roundhouse stated before kneeling down and holding his right servo out to Quicksilver, "Come here little spark."

Looking up at Soundbyte, Quicksilver stepped forward and set her much smaller servo into Roundhouse's servo. The dark gray and burgundy mech offered her a soft smile and guided her closer with a soft tug on her arm. Once she was standing directly in front of him, Roundhouse lifted her into his arms and stood back to his full height.

"The message you intercepted a few cycles ago, it's far more important than we first believed," Roundhouse stated, "There is going to be a battle and this little one must be kept safe."

"Of course. Have you spoken with Hardcore and Skyshot?" Soundbyte asked and Quicksilver looked over at her with worry.

"Not yet," Roundhouse responded, running a servo over Quicksilver's head and giving her a small smile, "That is where I'm headed now. You have command."

"Yes sir," Soundbyte nodded and clasped her servos behind her back. She spared Quicksilver a small smile before turning and walking toward the center of the bridge, taking a seat in the command chair.

"Roundhouse?" Quicksilver looked up at the captain's faceplate. She could barely see it over his chest armor, but still looked.

"Yes little one?" Roundhouse asked, his voice was gentler when he spoke to her directly than it had been when he spoke with Soundbyte.

"Are we in danger?" Quicksilver asked as a small shiver ran through her chassis at the thought. She's been on the bridge once during a short battle. None of the enemy had gotten close to the Harbinger, but still it had been scary.

"Not yet, but there is the possibility that we will be," Roundhouse vented a sigh as he spoke, "We are entering a dangerous area of space."

"ROUNDHOUSE," a thick, deep voice shouted from down the corridor behind Roundhouse. Venting a harsh sigh, the captain wrapped his servos about Quicksilver tightly and hid her from the other's view as well as he could.

Quicksilver had experienced this before. Whenever certain mechs approached, whichever crew member she was with at the time would try and hide her. It was as though they feared their fellow crewmates. But she had no idea why.

"What is it Snakebite?" Roundhouse demanded in a deep growl that made Quicksilver shake slightly. A gentle squeeze from Roundhouse made her feel better and she leaned against his broad chest.

"What is this?! You sparksitting now too?" Snakebite bit out, "This has to be the softest sparked crew of all the Decepticon army."

A low growl rumbled up through Roundhouse's form and he approached Snakebite. From the sound of his voice and the growl, Quicksilver hated to see what his faceplate looked like.

"Soft sparked?" Roundhouse snarled, "Seems to me that the last time you found yourself surrounded by Autobot soldiers, it was I who saved your worthless aft."

"My worthless aft? It seems that I was the only one standing, aside from yourself," Snakebite snapped and he came into Quicksilver's view, "This crew is a scourge on the Decepticon reputation. Pathetic, worthless fools, every last one of them."

He was an odd looking mech; his armor was scaled and dark green with silver undertones. A massive angled reptilian face made up his chest armor. She'd seen the mech before, but always at a distance and she was starting to understand why. Gripping Roundhouse's armor tightly, she got as close to him as she could.

"Is that so," Roundhouse scoffed, "Odd, as you are the one who requested this post."

"The Harbinger had a reputation for being a powerful, indestructible warship," Snakebite replied, "and _you_ have destroyed that."

"The Harbinger is still one of the deadliest warships in Lord Megatron's army," Roundhouse snarled, "That mission had a crew of fifty facing a gathering of well over two hundred Autobots and their sympathizers. And we destroyed all of them."

"Because of Skyshot's aim," Snakebite replied.

"And she is a member of this crew," Roundhouse pointed out, "Enough of this Snakebite. There is a battle looming and I will not be stopped in making preparations because you do not feel that my crew is powerful enough. You are welcome to abandon your post if you'd like."

Roundhouse turned his back on Snakebite and began to walk away. Standing on Roundhouse's forearm and looking over his shoulder, Quicksilver watched as Snakebite glowered before turning and stalking away.

"Who is he?" Quicksilver asked as she leaned back slightly. Roundhouse's right servo moved to her back and supported her before she fell over.

"A con that needs an attitude adjustment," Roundhouse growled and Quicksilver looked up at him in surprise, "What is it shorty?"

"Whenever you say that about me, it means I'm about to be in trouble if I don't stop what I'm doing," Quicksilver said matter-of-factly, looking up at him with wide optics.

"And that's what I mean with him as well," Roundhouse laughed.

"You mean you're gonna punish him?" Quicksilver asked. The captain had only ever punished her once and that had been enough for her.

"Not quite the way you're thinking," Roundhouse teased, "Though, if it worked as well on hard helmed mechs like him as it did on you, I'd consider it."

"I don't like it when you're mad," Quicksilver said, looking down at her hands as she moved them against one another.

"I know," Roundhouse lifted her higher until he could see her clearly and she giggled as he tickled her sensitive side armor.

Giggling harder, Quicksilver kicked her pedes, and squealed when he tossed her high into the air. Instinct told her to hold her wings out flat and take off, of course she could not yet fly, so there was no point, but she still did so.

"You are going to be impossible to catch when you learn to use those wings of yours," Roundhouse commented as he caught her and brought her closer to his chestplating once again.

Still giggling, she grinned, "When do I get to learn?"

"When you're a bit bigger and your wings have caught up with your body," Roundhouse stated, laughing.

"Skyshot will teach me, won't she," Quicksilver asked apprehensively. She loved her femme creator, but there were times when she felt as though she were not good enough for her. The mech half of her creators was worse and she preferred to steer clear of him whenever possible.

"Most likely, with help, I'm sure," Roundhouse said with a small, slightly sad smile.

"What's gonna happen during the battle?" Quicksilver asked cautiously. A thrill of fear ran down her backstrut at the thought of another battle. Her creators had wasted no time in making certain she was aware of just how dangerous strange mechs and femmes were to her. They said that anyone who approached her should be treated like an enemy soldier, because they would want to steal her and take her back to their leaders or sell her.

Quicksilver was not quite sure what they meant by the latter. Who would want to buy a sparkling? But, she didn't think she wanted to find out either. As long as she was aboard the Harbinger, she was safe. The crew wouldn't let anything happen to her, no matter what.

"For you? Nothing. You're going to be stowed safely away in your hidden compartment," Roundhouse said sternly, "No sneaking out this time."

"Yes sir," Quicksilver responded with a grimace. That had been the only time Roundhouse had felt it was his duty to punish her and she had not liked the results.

"Good femling," Roundhouse said with a stroke along her backstrut as he came up even with the entrance to the quarters she shared with her creators.

Before he could touch the panel to the right of the door, it opened to reveal Skyshot. The flyer femme looked upon her captain in surprise before scowling at Quicksilver.

"What has she done now?" Skyshot asked as she stepped to the side and allowed them admittance.

"Nothing as far as I am aware, aside from impress Soundbyte," Roundhouse responded smoothly as he carried Quicksilver over to the seating area and set her down. He stood straight and turned to face Skyshot, his servos clasped behind his back.

"I don't understand sir, she usually does not return until the dark cycle," Skyshot sounded confused and Quicksilver released the air she had been holding in her body. It came out in a soft whoosh from her vents.

"We are approaching an enemy controlled section of space, Skyshot. She will need to be placed in the safety of her compartment until further notice… I'd recommend making certain she has plenty of energon, as a precaution," Roundhouse stated.

The dark blue femme's gaze hardened and she stood at attention, clasping her servos behind her back, "Understood, Captain."

Roundhouse nodded curtly before turning back to Quicksilver with a far gentler expression, though he did give her a firm look before speaking, "Behave and do as you are told, 'Silver."

"Yes sir," Quicksilver responded shyly. He reached over and stroked her helm before turning away and exiting the quarters. She watched him go before looking back to Skyshot.

"Let's go," Skyshot ordered, moving toward Quicksilver with more speed than the femling had been expecting. Before she quite realized what was happening, Skyshot had lifted her into her arms and was carrying her toward the rear of the single room compartment.

Once they reached this section, Skyshot set her down on a berth and opened a cabinet, rummaging around until she came up with several sealed cubes of energon. As she was doing this, the door opened once more and Hardcore entered. The moment he saw what was happening, he stopped and glowered down at Quicksilver.

Feeling nauseous at the sight, Quicksilver quickly scooted back toward the wall and pulled her legs up in front of her, watching Hardcore out of the tops of her optics. He moved toward them slowly, his visage one of utmost rage.

"What is going on here?" Hardcore thundered, his optics narrowing and darkening as Skyshot turned to him.

"Orders, Captain wants her in the safe zone with energon reserves," Skyshot responded curtly.

"Finally," Hardcore's mood shifted swiftly and he slammed his fist into his open palm as he glanced over at Quicksilver with a predator's grin, "A battle. My body's been freezing up we've been out of it for so long."

Cowering under the gaze, Quicksilver wiggled back a little more, trying to make herself disappear and fervently wishing she was still on the bridge with Soundbyte and the others. The move did not escape Hardcore's notice and he walked toward her, slamming his servos against the top of the berth before leaning in closer to her. Biting her lower lip plate, Quicksilver stopped the whimper that tried to escape her at the nearness of his form, as well as the look on his faceplate.

"Afraid, little spark?" Hardcore asked in a silky, sickeningly sweet voice and a small cry did escape Quicksilver. That voice never meant anything good for her and looking to Skyshot would be useless. How she wished Roundhouse had not left.

"Hardcore, are there any other reserves?" Skyshot asked absent mindedly. Hardcore grit his dental plates and pushed away from Quicksilver, moving to join his mate at the storage cabinet.

"Not that I know of," Hardcore growled, wrapping a servo around the back of Skyshot's neckplating and squeezing it tightly. The femme nearly dropped the cube she was holding and a look that Quicksilver had never seen before passed over her faceplate.

Skyshot turned and leaned against Hardcore before speaking in a husky voice, "Not now, love. Later, when she's away from here."

"Then, perhaps, we should put her in her safe zone now," Hardcore spoke in a voice not far from that of his mate's current tone.

"Sounds good to me," Skyshot whispered, turning and collecting the energon while Hardcore moved toward Quicksilver.

Without thinking, Quicksilver tried to run, avoiding her creator's large servos. A growl of frustration and anger escaped him and he reached out again, snagging her by the leg. Screeching of metal on metal echoed around the quarters as Quicksilver tried to dig her fingers into the smooth surface of the berth. It was of no use, unlike Skyshot she had blunted tips on her fingers and they did little more than make a horrible cacophony of noise.

"You little slagger," Hardcore snarled as he dragged her off of the berth and held her in front of him by the scruff of her armor, "If we weren't in a hurry, you'd be sorry for that disobedience."

Crying, Quicksilver curled up as she dangled there, "I'm sorry." She didn't bother to try and explain that he'd startled her. If she did, she was sure to get into more trouble. The only reason he wasn't punishing her now was because they were going to be walking amongst the rest of the crew and he couldn't risk someone who liked her seeing the damage and going to Roundhouse about it.

"Sorry this and sorry that, yeah, you're sorry all right. A sorry piece of scrap," Hardcore sneered, shaking her so that her dental plates snapped together and she cried out at the jarring motion.

"Please!" Quicksilver cried out as he continued the motion. At the sound he did stop, only to drop her back onto the berth. Her landing was hard enough that she felt her hip armor dent and bit down on another cry; this time one of pain.

"Useless little bratling," Hardcore muttered. Quicksilver imagined she could feel his red optics burning into her as he stood over her, glaring darkly. But when she looked, he had turned away and was focused on Skyshot again.

Crawling over to the wall once more, Quicksilver rubbed her dented hip armor and watched them both in fearful silence. She wiped her faceplate roughly with the back of her right servo while they talked quietly to one another. Neither one seemed aware of her pain. If they were, they didn't care.

"I'll take her and you can carry the energon then," Skyshot was saying and she handed her mate the cubes she had managed to find before approaching Quicksilver.

She reached across the berth and easily lifted her into her arms. Before she settled her, Skyshot smacked her hard on the aft. A blinding pain shot through Quicksilver's processor and she cried out. It was out of being startled by the sudden punishment as it was the pain. Skyshot had never struck her, never even threatened her with it. That was Hardcore's territory. When the femme drew her closer, Quicksilver wrapped her arms around Skyshot's neck plating and cried into the dark metal there.

"Misbehavior will be dealt with, Quicksilver. You do not fight your creator, understand?" Skyshot snapped, though she was rubbing her servo up and down Quicksilver's back gently.

"Yes ma'am," Quicksilver whimpered, "I'm sorry."

"Good, now it's to the safe area with you," Skyshot responded, leading her mate from their quarters.

A few of the crew members tried to greet them, especially Quicksilver, but the femling felt no desire to speak with anyone. Over the past few breems she'd been emotionally drained and simply wanted to slip into recharge, but that was not an option until they reached the secured area where she was placed whenever the ship entered battle or even when there were strange bots aboard to speak with the Captain. As they continued down the corridor, Quicksilver settled down enough to look around. No one was around at this point and they were quickly approaching the safe zone, a term that had been created by Soundbyte. It was really little more than a storage cabinet that had been reinforced and the entry hidden behind a massive panel in the wall. When she had been younger, it had seemed to reach monstrous proportions, however, now that she was older and bigger, it seemed smaller and less interesting. It was never fun being placed there, especially when the crew feared that the battle or visit may last for a few cycles. Every once in a while, a crew member gave her a toy so she wouldn't as bored, but it would disappear the moment Hardcore spotted it. As did everything Quicksilver was given as a gift.

Opening the hatch, Hardcore looked inside before stacking the energon cubes in the far corner. He then stood and stepped back, giving Skyshot room to set her inside. As soon as she was standing on her own two feet, her creators looked down at her, both with nearly identically severe looks on their faceplates, and regarded her silently. It seemed that a vorn had passed before they spoke.

"Remain inside, do not try and escape again or it will be Hardcore disciplining you, not that weak-sparked Captain," Skyshot warned and Quicksilver shrank back.

"Seal it and let's go," Hardcore ordered as he turned and walked away.

Skyshot looked back at her and gave her a very small, very tired smile, "We will retrieve you after the battle. Be good, little spark."

With those parting words, the door was sealed and Quicksilver was left alone in the dark space. Only the glow of the energon and her optics gave her any light. With a soft sob, she made her way into the back corner and curled up on the bottom of the small unit and cried as she went into recharge.

Cycles passed until Quicksilver was uncertain of just how long she'd been locked inside of the safe zone. Her energon reserves were starting to run low, she only had one cube left. Even at her size, she had managed to go through them fairly quickly. More than once, she had considered testing the locking mechanism to see if she could get out, but each time, she remembered Roundhouse's warning and thought better of it. However, now, she was starting to get panicky. It had never been this long before. And the darkness was starting to creep in on her. It was almost as though it were a living thing, coming to devour her.

The longer she sat in one place, the worse the fear. The worse the fear, the harder and more often she cried. Still no one came for her and she started to imagine that she was now alone, that the crew had gone away or been destroyed by their enemy. Eventually, the tears stopped and she sat in her corner, filled with a terrifying amount of fear and wishing that someone would come and get her. She didn't even care who it was – she would even hug Hardcore if he appeared at the hatch.

Still there was no relief from the darkness and, slowly, the last cube of energon began to disappear. She ingested it sparingly. Dark thoughts began to fill her processor and she imagined she could hear scraping and clawing outside of her hatch. As she sat there in the dark, she made up a story of what had happened aboard the ship she called home. Images of the entire crew; Soundbyte, Roundhouse, even her creators and Snakebite, all lying in pools of energon upon the decking. They'd be blocking the corridors because there was no way any crew member would go down without a fight. And the creatures that offlined them all would still be wandering the corridors, seeking out any that happened to survive.

Quicksilver spent so much time imagining this course of events that she began to believe them. And each noise the ship made, her wild imagination made into one of the creatures, trying to get into her little compartment. It got bad enough that she curled up in the far corner and listened, believing that something was working feverishly to get into the hatch. Eventually she went into recharge out of pure necessity and had nightmares during the entire time.

When she came out of recharge, her body ached and it hurt to move her joints. She need energon and ingested the last of her supplies, watching as the soft glow from the liquid fuel disappeared and only her optics lit her small space. The safe zone was becoming a prison, one that she had no hope of escaping, unless she tried to hack the lock and there was no guarantee that she could after her last escapade.

"Soundbyte… Roundhouse… anyone…" Quicksilver whimpered, crawling to the hatch and setting her servos on its smooth surface, pressing her audio up against the cool metal she listened. There was no sound coming through the thick, reinforced metal. Sitting back on her haunches, she curled her legs to the side and set her hands in her lap, staring down at the fingers, curled about one another.

There was no way for her to know how long she sat like that. But the next sound she heard sent a panic through her spark and she clambered to her pedes and ran back to the back wall, nearly falling when her legs tried to give out halfway there. Once she was pressed against the back wall, she watched as the hatch was opened and light flooded her little space. A silhouetted figure stood there, silently looking in at her and she whimpered.

"Quicksilver," the voice was familiar but she didn't know how. It was not Roundhouse nor was it Soundbyte, Skyshot, or Hardcore. Her young processor simply could not put a faceplate to the sound.

Pressing herself closer to the back wall, she cried, "Please, don't hurt me." The figure stopped moving and drew the servo that had been placed inside back out.

"What's wrong?" an even more familiar voice, this one belonging to Soundbyte asked and Quicksilver's spark soared.

"She's scared out of her processor is what's wrong, poor thing's been stuck in the dark for over fifteen cycles!" the other voice, the one belonging to the silhouette responded, "What the slag is wrong with those two?"

"I don't know, but let me see if I can't get her out of there," Soundbyte said and the silhouetted bot moved aside.

Before Soundbyte could fully stand in front of the safe zone, Quicksilver launched herself at her and cried in relief, clinging to the front of the communications officer's armor. A startled laugh and light stroking motion on her back told Quicksilver that Soundbyte was real and that she was not imagining this.

"Oh sweet spark," Soundbyte whispered, "You're all right, its safe now."

"I was so scared," Quicksilver whimpered, "I thought you all were gone to the Allspark."

"It'll take more than a few Autobots to send us to the Allspark," Soundbyte assured her, hugging her closer.

"But, but no one came for me," Quicksilver continued, desperately clinging to the femme's armor, "And I heard weird noises."

"It's all right," Soundbyte tried to comfort her, "You're safe now. Blindside and I came to get you as soon as we could."

"It was so dark in there!" Quicksilver cried, continuing to bury herself against the femme's neckplating. If she could have gotten into her armor, she would have. Every piece of her body was trembling with fear and anger at being left alone for so long.

"Soundbyte," Blindside spoke up and the communications officer joined him, making Quicksilver cling even tighter. Fear rushed through her processor that they were going to put her back inside and leave her there indefinitely.

"I don't want to go back!" Quicksilver cried harder and Soundbyte stopped her forward movement, tightening her grip on Quicksilver.

"Hush little one, we will not make you go back… ever again," Soundbyte promised with a sad tone in her voice that made Quicksilver look up.

"Promise?" Quicksilver asked in a shaky voice.

Offering a small, sad smile, Soundbyte nodded, "Yes, I promise."

Venting a shuddering sigh, Quicksilver leaned down against Soundbyte's chestplating and wiped at her faceplate. Looking at Blindside, a smaller mech with orange and black armor and deep red optics, Quicksilver noticed the rage that was barely concealed behind his calm expression. Leaning closer to Soundbyte, she trembled.

"What is it Blindside?" Soundbyte asked.

"There were only five cubes in here with her, Soundbyte," Blindside snarled, "That was barely enough to last her ten cycles, if that. That little femling was forced to ration herself and she never should have been."

"We did not know how long the battle would last," Soundbyte tried to defend Quicksilver's creators, but her voice was weak and held an edge of anger as well, "There is nothing we can do now. Let's get her to Tailspin and see if anything was damaged because of the lack of energon."

"How can the Captain…" Blindside did not get to finish as Soundbyte spoke over him.

"Do not speak of that here," Soundbyte ordered, sounding every bit the military commander she was, "That information is not for little audios."

"My apologies, ma'am," Blindside stated in an official tone that was rarely used aboard the Harbinger and it drew Quicksilver's attention far faster than anything else they were saying.

"Just be sure to watch what you say from now on, 'Side," Soundbyte responded, softening her tone before turning and walking down the corridor.

"I will… I still think it's a low blow though," Blindside spoke softly and Quicksilver looked over Soundbyte's shoulder plating in time to see him slip inside the safe zone and remove the debris from her stint inside.

Pushing back so that she could see Soundbyte's faceplate, Quicksilver looked up at the femme quizzically, "What happened?" Her voice was watery sounding and weak, even to her own audios, but she wanted to know why she was stuck inside the safe zone for so long.

"A battle," Soundbyte responded simply, "You need to know no more than that."

"But, I training to become a Decepticon, don't I need to know what you do?" Quicksilver pushed for more of an answer.

"You do know what I do," Soundbyte returned, "Fighting is a very small part of a communications officer's existence, 'Silver."

"But," Quicksilver started to argue, only to have Soundbyte set a finger across her lip plates to silence her.

"No buts, little one. You will learn about battle when you're old enough to fully understand it. For now, you are to concentrate on learning and growing as normally as possible during wartime," Soundbyte said softly as they reached the medical bay.

"…All right," Quicksilver acquiesced, feeling cheated on the answers she was seeking.

"What have we here?" Tailspin asked, turning from what he had been doing at his computer console and looking at Quicksilver with a large grin.

"A femling you need to give a complete checkup," Soundbyte responded easily.

"Well then, I will get right on that and afterwards, how would you like an energon treat?" Tailspin asked, the blades that hung down from his back twitched with good humor and Quicksilver looked at him skeptically.

"I'm sure she'd love it, 'Spinner," Soundbyte answered for her, trying to remove Quicksilver's servos from her armor, "If I can get her to let go."

"No!" Quicksilver shouted, clinging tighter as Soundbyte tried to pry her fingers loose.

"Silver, you're just getting a checkup, I'm not going to leave you here alone, little spark," Soundbyte tried to reassure her but Quicksilver was in full-on panic mode and had not heard a thing. Instead, she fought every effort Soundbyte made to get her off.

Venting a sigh of frustration, Soundbyte stopped for a moment before taking a seat on the medical berth herself, "Silver, you need a checkup. You were stuck in that tiny box for fifteen cycles with too little energon. Let Tailspin check you over and then we will leave together. I will not go anywhere; in fact, I will remain on this berth beside you the entire time."

"You pwomise?" Quicksilver asked with a slight lisp as she began to vent heavily again. Rubbing her servo across her optics, she tried hard not to start sobbing all over again.

"I promise sweetling," Soundbyte stated, a sad tenor in her deep voice, "Oh little one." Soundbyte gave her a brief, powerful hug before pulling Quicksilver away from her armor and settling her beside her on the berth's smooth surface.

"Hey Silver," Tailspin greeted, trying hard to make her smile. Instead, Quicksilver leaned away and played with her fingertips.

Venting a soft sigh, the medic stood up and ran a number of scans across her body, "Her joints are going to be sore for a while, she didn't get much exercise in that hole. There are no adverse effects from the lack of energon and otherwise, she seems to be healthy."

"Good," Soundbyte sighed, stroking the back of Quicksilver's helm.

"Now for the visual examination," Tailspin said, "Silver, please stand up so I can see your form more clearly."

The medic held out a hand and Quicksilver took it gingerly. He helped her to her pedes and started to go over every inch of her chassis. He stopped momentarily as he had her turn to the side and gently touched the dent in her hip, giving Soundbyte a look that Quicksilver had learned adults gave one another when they suspected something dire. Turning a small smile back on her, he began to turn her slowly, finding no other damage. Once he was done, he allowed her retake her seat and stepped away.

Sliding over to Soundbyte's side, Quicksilver leaned against her thigh armor and watched the medic work silently. She was tired, her body aching for her to go into recharge even though she had not done much more than that over the past fifteen cycles. It was still hard for her to believe she had been trapped inside the safe zone for that long.

"You okay?" Soundbyte's voice floated down to her from somewhere above her helm and Quicksilver vented a yawn.

"Tired," Quicksilver responded, curling up tighter against the warm metal.

"You can go into recharge, sweetling, I'll bring you out when it's time to leave," Soundbyte said, "I promise."

Relaxing a little more, Quicksilver rubbed her cheekplating against Soundbyte's leg and started to drift off into recharge.

"How else would she get that dent?!" Soundbyte's voice was the first thing Quicksilver heard as she came up out of the darkness of recharge. The medical bay had not changed much, save for the additions of Roundhouse and Blindside.

"She's a sparkling, Soundbyte, there could be many explanations for a dent in her armor. She's not the most graceful of beings right now," Roundhouse stated, his tone was stern and his stance denoted little interest in the debate.

"How many times will it take before you admit that they are harmful to her, Captain? She may be their sparkling, but they don't treat her like it," Soundbyte snapped in response.

"There is nothing we can do, Soundbyte. They are her creators and have the right to handle her as they see fit," Roundhouse answered in the same even, calm tone.

"And now you're sending her away with them, alone," Blindside bit out, slamming an open palm against the side of Tailspin's computer console before turning away and starting to pace.

It took a short while for the full meaning of what Blindside had said to sink in and Quicksilver's spark began to pound. Roundhouse was sending her away, with her creators, to live alone with them. Never getting a break from their cruel natures. He was getting rid of her.

"NO! Roundhouse please!" Quicksilver sat up and cried out, startling all of the adults present. Soundbyte shoved past her Captain and practically ran across the medical bay, scooping Quicksilver into her arms and holding her close.

"Hush little one, it's okay," Soundbyte soothed as she turned back to the others, "Does that sound like a femling who wants to be left alone with her creators? Roundhouse, they are cruel and should never have been given such a gift. If you send them away with her, it'll be on your helm. I will take no part in it."

"Nor will I," Blindside snapped, turning and exiting the medical bay.

Quicksilver was barely aware of his departure as she clung tightly to Soundbyte's armor. If she never let go, then they could not force her to leave with her creators, or Soundbyte would have to go with them.

"I cannot force her to go back into that box," Roundhouse said, almost pleading with them, "What else can I do?"

"Post a guard whenever we go into battle, keep her away from the main decks," Soundbyte answered harshly, "Do whatever you can, but do NOT send her with those two glitches."

"You know we don't have the personnel to do that," Roundhouse responded, "Each and every member of this crew serves an integral part in a battle. We cannot afford to lose one of us for any reason."

"How can you say that? She is our future, not this slagging war! Any and all sparklings that are created since the fall of Cybertron are our life's blood! If we lose them, then we lose everything," Soundbyte argued, "There are so few of them out there now… Roundhouse, even you have to admit that the most precious thing aboard this ship is not a thing at all. It's her and if we lose her, then we may as well as jump into a smelting vat."

"Soundbyte, that is why I had to make this decision. I do not want to lose her or her creators. How many times has Skyshot saved your aft during a battle, taking down some bot or other trying to take you out? And you don't get much more aggressive and formidable than Hardcore when it comes to a ground battle," Roundhouse snapped, "We have no choice. She is in danger here and this is no place for a sparkling to grow up."

"Then I'll go with them," Soundbyte stated firmly, "I'll make sure she's treated right and taught correctly."

"You can't go, I need you here. You're my second-in-command for Primus's sake!" Roundhouse exclaimed, slamming his servo against the wall hard enough to leave a dent. The movement and sound sent Quicksilver into tremors and she wrapped her arms tighter about Soundbyte's neck plating.

"This is not right, Roundhouse," Soundbyte tried harder, "Haven't you ever noticed how she looks at Hardcore, the fear in her optics. She runs to one of us instead of her creators when she's scared or lonely. And you've been in their quarters! There are no toys in there for her to play with. I've never seen one of them alone with her unless they are dragging her back there after she's gotten into trouble. Can you honestly say that you are sending her with them with a light spark? That you trust them to take care of her properly?"

Roundhouse vented a heavy sigh and looked down at Quicksilver. Looking back at him, she ran a servo over her faceplate to wipe away the tears that had streaked the silver surface. A number of emotions ran the gamut across his faceplate, but then settled into stern determination and he looked back up at Soundbyte, "They leave next cycle on the shuttle. I want to hear no further arguments from you or any other member of this crew is that understood, _Commander_?"

A small growl rumbled through Soundbyte's chest, but she simply stood at attention and responded firmly, "Yes sir. May I speak freely, _sir_?"

"Request denied, Commander. I believe you've spoken freely enough up until now. Return the sparkling to her creators and return to your duties," Roundhouse ordered as he turned his back on both them and Tailspin, stalking out of the medical bay.

"That fragging fool," Soundbyte swore, clasping her servo tightly over Quicksilver's shaking form.

"I don't wanna go with them," Quicksilver whined, no longer fearing any consequences from doing so, "Please Soundbyte, don't make me go, I wanna stay here with you!"

Quicksilver allowed Soundbyte to move her around until she was cradled against the femme's chest armor. Curling against the warmth and feeling the spark beating within, Quicksilver cried softly.

"I'm so sorry sweetling… I tried and failed you," Soundbyte said softly before her gaze turned to the medic, "Tailspin, what do we do now?"

"There is nothing we can do, Soundbyte. The Captain gives the orders around here and neither one of us is allowed to go against them," Tailspin responded sadly, "I cannot deem him incompetent because he is thinking of his ship and crew… all of them."

"Maybe, but he's sending her to a life of fear, condemnation, and abuse," Soundbyte snarled before stepping back and calming herself enough to be comforting to Quicksilver.

"We don't know that, maybe after escaping the stress of this ship, they'll settle down and realize what a blessing they have," Tailspin said, though his tone held little hope for that happening.

"Spinner, you know they won't change," Soundbyte stated, sounding defeated.

"We can only hope, Soundbyte… at least the Captain is sending them some place nice," Tailspin said cautiously, "Altera is supposed to be a beautiful planet."

A hollow laugh met this statement, "One that is currently embroiled in a war with their sister planet."

"The planet's never been hit and the Cybertronian colony is heavily defended," Tailspin reminded her, "She'll be safer there than she ever was here."

"As long as they don't get tired of her," Soundbyte spoke softly, looking down at Quicksilver and running a finger across her faceplate.

Looking back up at her, Quicksilver whimpered slightly and reached out for the servo that was touching her. Instead of allowing her to have it, Soundbyte pulled it away and turned back to Tailspin. A small thrum of sorrow began to beat through Quicksilver's spark and she curled her servos into balls and settled them to either side of her faceplate. No one was going to help her this time.

The next cycle came far too fast for Quicksilver and she soon found herself in the tiny docking bay, standing beside Skyshot. A small bag lay at her pedes, filled with the few items the crew gave her. She wouldn't have it for long, which she was certain of. She didn't know what Hardcore had against her owning things, but he always took them and discarded them as soon as whoever had given it to her was gone. Looking up at the Captain with her pale blue optics, Quicksilver pleaded silently for him to overturn his order, to tell them that he was just kidding and wanted them to stay aboard the ship. But he barely looked at her, focusing instead on Hardcore.

Soundbyte was not there. She had said her farewell before the dark cycle, as had many of the other crew members. It seemed none of them wanted to take part in the actual act of sending them away. It was a bittersweet thought. Even at her young age, Quicksilver knew that they were doing it to make a point to the Captain, but it also meant that they were not there to say goodbye to her.

"We understand, Captain," Skyshot responded to something Roundhouse said and Quicksilver looked up at her. What she saw made her shiver. Both Hardcore and Skyshot blamed her for their dismissal from their posts and were not shy about informing her of that fact. This was going to be a long shuttle ride to the colony.

Roundhouse nodded and stood at attention before stepping back and allowing them to enter the shuttle. Looking at him one last time, Quicksilver hoped against all hope that he had changed his mind in the last few breems. But he merely looked down at her coldly, so she lifted her small bag and followed her creators aboard the shuttle. As the hatch closed, Quicksilver noticed Soundbyte's slender form near the docking bay door and she waved sadly. The communications officer waved back before turning and walking away.

"Get in your seat," Skyshot ordered harshly from the front of the shuttle and Quicksilver hurried to obey. Getting into her designated seat and strapping herself in, Quicksilver leaned back and stared at the forward screens. They were flickering between star charts, current views, and other important information.

Roundhouse's voice came across the communications link, giving them permission to disembark before the link was cut off. It was the last time Quicksilver heard the Captain's voice.

Stumbling out of the shuttle, every joint, cable, and nerve ending in her body on fire, Quicksilver wept bitterly. The journey to the colony had not been as bad as she had feared, it'd been worse. Without the safety of the crew noticing any damage done to her, Hardcore had struck out at her with the full force of his anger and self-pity. At one point, she had found a tiny nook inside the shuttle's storage compartment and slipped inside, spending most of the journey out from under pede.

Shuttering and unshuttering her optics, Quicksilver looked up into the sky and stared at the large yellow star that the planet orbited. Barely visible in its current position was a red dwarf that was a companion to the yellow star. Turning her attention to the colony itself, she looked about at the work that was taking place. It was a newer colony and filled with bots of all backgrounds. Slowly, the structures that would eventually become store fronts were going up and residences had started to pop up every once in a while. Behind her, Skyshot emerged from the shuttle hatch and a disdainful sigh was vented from her body.

"What a mess," Skyshot muttered, stepping around Quicksilver and stopping a short distance ahead of her.

"This is what Roundhouse considers an appropriate place to raise a Decepticon sparkling?" Hardcore sneered as he followed his mate. Quicksilver moved away so that he would not feel the need to give her a 'friendly' nudge with his pede.

"There are Autobots here," Skyshot scoffed, "Yes very appropriate indeed."

Quicksilver maintained her silence as she looked at the horizon and watched as a flock of avians took off from the high tops of the tall organic structures called trees. A cool breeze blew down on them and Quicksilver dragged it in with her vents, savoring the new scents and beginning to identify them automatically. Neither of her creators took notice, simply walking away toward the port offices. Reluctantly, Quicksilver followed them. She could not wait until she could fly and escape to those wonderlands she could see, maybe then, she'd be able to feel free.


End file.
